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A Florida mother who received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine while pregnant has passed antibodies to her newborn, doctors say. Her child is believed to be the first baby known to be born with COVID-19 antibodies, according to reports. "To our knowledge, this was the first in the world that was reported of a baby being born with antibodies after a vaccination," pediatrician Paul Gilbert told Tequesta's WPBF. (Aaro, 3/17)

The doctors presented their finding in a preprint article, meaning this claim has yet to be peer-reviewed. Drs Paul Gilbert and Chad Rudnick said the mother, a frontline healthcare worker, received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine in January, at 36 weeks pregnant. The woman gave birth to a “vigorous, healthy” girl three weeks later. Researchers analyzed blood from the baby’s umbilical cord and antibodies “were detected … at time of delivery”, their paper said. “Thus, there is potential for protection and infection risk reduction from Sars-CoV-2 with maternal vaccination.” (Bekiempis, 3/16)

“We tested the baby’s cord to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby which is something, we see happen with other vaccines given during pregnancy,” Gilbert said. The results showed the baby had the COVID-19 antibodies. Rudnick says this is significant in the fight to protect children from COVID-19. (Espinosa, 3/16)

New research has pointed to the importance of keeping mothers and newborns together — even when a coronavirus infection is suspected or confirmed, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO, citing two new studies recently published in Lancet EclinicalMedicine and BMJ Global Health, respectively, said that the pandemic is "severely affecting the quality of care given to small and sick newborns, resulting in unnecessary suffering and deaths." (Farber, 3/16)

KHN: Doctors Debate Use Of Blood Thinners To Prevent Clots In Women After C-Sections

Nearly all women who deliver babies through cesarean section at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City receive injections of the blood thinner heparin for weeks after the procedure, to prevent potentially life-threatening blood clots. Obstetric leaders there say that’s good medical practice because the formation of those clots, called venous thromboembolism or VTE, though uncommon, is a leading cause of maternal death after delivery, particularly C-section delivery. Broad use of heparin has been shown to be effective and safe in the United Kingdom in reducing that risk and should be adopted in the U.S., they argue. (Meyer, 3/17)